An Entirely New Room
A lot’s changed since Kentucky lost to Clemson in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen left (again) after one season to head back to the NFL. This time it was Tampa Bay. In addition, all of the signal callers from 2023 transferred out of the program. As a result, it’s a whole new group in 2024. Thankfully you’ve got us to break down who’s who. Let’s get into it with our 2024 Kentucky Position Preview: Quarterbacks.
Looking To Prove Himself
Coming out of high school Brock Vandagriff was the 34th-best player in the 2021 class and fifth at his position. However, he found himself behind Stetson Bennett on the depth chart. Bennett of course went on to win back-to-back titles with Georgia. Last season he battled Carson Beck for the starting job before losing out.
When Beck announced he was coming back for the 2024 season Vandagriff hit the portal. After quickly forming a relationship with then-offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Vandagriff quickly announced he was heading to Lexington. Appearing in eight games last season Vandagriff completed 12 of 18 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Ironically he had some of his best numbers in the Bulldogs’ 51-13 win over Kentucky. Playing the entire fourth quarter he hit on five of seven passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. In addition, he ran two times for 27 yards.
With Coen gone, he’s had to learn a new system, that of new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. He also likes the pro-style offense, however the Cats are going to a no-huddle look for 2024. That transition led to some struggles during the spring. As a result, Vandagriff and center Eli Cox have been working on that during the summer. All eyes will be on him when the Cats kick off the season against Southern Mississippi on August 31st.
Continuing on with our 2024 Kentucky position preview: quarterbacks we look at a newcomer who has needed experience.
Returning Home
When we went through the roster in the spring there was one big question in the quarterback room. That was the lack of experience among the signal callers. Finding someone through the portal was imperative and that’s just what UK did. They enticed a rare in-state recruiting loss to return home.
Hailing from Owensboro, Kentucky, Gavin Wimsatt ranked as the third-best player in Kentucky and the 25th-best quarterback in the 2021 class. Stoops and Vince Marrow have prioritized keeping the best players in the state home. However, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder spurned the Cats, choosing to play for Greg Schiano and Rutgers.
During the 2023 campaign, he completed 48 percent of his passes for 1,735 yards and nine touchdowns. In addition, he ran for 497 yards and 11 touchdowns, a total that ranked him fifth in the Big Ten.
However this spring the Spring, Wimsatt lost the starting quarterback battle to former Minnesota signal caller Athan Kaliakmanis. He entered the transfer portal and quickly became a cat.
While his passing numbers don’t wow you, his running ability certainly does. Hamdan wants a rushing quarterback in his attack. Wimsatt certainly fits that bill.
Our 2024 Kentucky Position Previews: Quarterback rolls on with two more instate players pushing for playing time.
Waiting In The Wings
Lexington native Beau Allen is back for a second tour of duty with the Cats. The Lexington Catholic star spent 2020-21 at Kentucky backing up first Terry Wilson and then Will Levis, Allen appeared in five games over two seasons. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 132 yards.
Following the 2021 season, he transferred to Tarleton State. Allen was the Western Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year after throwing for 2,357 yards and 22 touchdowns. He transferred again, this time to Georgia Southern, for the 2023 year. However, he had to sit out after transferring for a second time. Now he’s back at Kentucky. Allen can certainly step in if needed.
Quarterback Of The Future?
Incoming freshman Cutter Boley is a four-star player from Lexington Christian Academy. Boley chose the Cats on May 18th, 2023 electing to stay home over offers from Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, and Tennessee.
As a senior Boley threw for 2,187 yards and 24 touchdowns. He led the Eagles to an 11-2 record and the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.
247 Sports ranks Boley as the third-best player in Kentucky. In addition he 20th best quarterback in the country and 237th best player overall. He’s most likely the Cats’ signal caller of the future.
Let’s wrap up our 2024 Kentucky football position preview: Quarterbacks with some final thoughts.
Best/Worst Case Scenarios
At the recently completed SEC Media Days Stoops said there’s no QB competition. “We have a quarterback, We believe in him. He’s got to go prove it.” If all goes well Vandagriff shows why he was so highly rated coming out of school. He finds an instant connection with star receivers Barion Brown and Dane Key. Furthermore, he has such a great year he becomes a draft prospect.
On the other side of the ball if Vandagriff has trouble getting on the same page with the receivers like Devin Leary did last year, it could be a long season. Especially with a much tougher schedule in 2024. Wimsatt is certainly a running threat but has struggled passing the ball. The Big Blue Nation won’t have long to wait to see how it all plays out.
Thanks for checking out our 2024 Kentucky Football Preview: Quarterbacks here at Last Word On College Football. Next time it’s all about the running backs.
